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European Stocks To Follow Wall Street Higher

(Alliance News Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) VIENNA (Alliance News) - European stocks are seen rising on Monday, tracking a positive close on Wall Street Friday and firm cues from Asia this morning as worries over the likelihood of banking problems in Portugal eased. "To strengthen the confidence of customers, employees and the public, it is essential that the executive committee of Banco Espirito Santo be replaced as soon as possible by a new team," the Bank of Portugal said after an extraordinary meeting on Sunday with the board of directors of the lender.

US earnings will take center stage this week as investors wait for quarterly results from a slew of blue-chip companies including Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Intel, Bank of America, IBM, Morgan Stanley and General Electric for direction.

On the economic front, a slew of reports on retail sales, producer price inflation, industrial production, housing starts and regional manufacturing activity may provide fresh clues about the near-term path for US monetary policy. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to deliver her semi-annual policy testimony to the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday and the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday.

Closer home, Eurozone industrial production data is slated for release in the European session, with economists expecting output to rise 0.5% year-over-year in May following a 1.4% increase in April.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will deliver a speech before the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, at 1.00 pm ET.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has affirmed the sovereign ratings on Germany and raised the outlook on Ukraine to 'stable'. Germany's coveted 'AAA' rating was affirmed with 'stable' outlook, reflecting its ability to absorb large economic and financial shocks.

Fitch Ratings has raised the outlook on the Netherlands' ratings to 'stable' from 'negative' citing marked improvement in public finances. The ratings agency also maintained its rating as well as outlook on Serbia.

The EU on Saturday imposed sanctions on more Ukrainian separatist leaders considering the actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.

Aveva Group PLC said its expectations for the Group performance on a constant currency basis for the full financial year remain unchanged.

The European markets held steady on Friday after tumbling to their lowest levels in two months the previous day on worries about the soundness of Portugal's biggest bank. The German DAX edged up marginally, France's CAC 40 rose 0.4% and the UK's FTSE 100 added 0.3%. Banco Espirito Santo shares gained 4% as Portugal's central bank reassured investors that the solvency of embattled bank is "solid".

US stocks rebounded from recent losses on Friday as Wells Fargo's quarterly results came largely in line with estimates and investors braced for a busy week of earnings and economic news. The Dow and the S&P 500 rose about 0.2% each, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 0.4%.